Life is full of crossroads. These are moments in life when we must choose. This is true when it comes to selecting which kind of computer to purchase, a Mac or a PC. It is also true in other areas of life. This blog has been essentially about choice. The choice to use a more advanced computer system. And now I stand at a crossroads myself. This time its not about choosing which computer to purchase. Its about which activities to pursue and how to prioritize my time.

I am married, employed full-time and a part-time graduate student. Blogging for me is a hobby. I’ve committed myself over the course of a year now to carve out time in my otherwise busy schedule to blog. However, I have come to a place in my life where I must choose between blogging and other activities. These activities are spending time with family, day job and graduate studies. I am nearing the completion of my graduate program. I’m in the last stretch of the race to my masters degree. Time is of highest value at this point in the process. I need to write my thesis by early spring of 2008 if I want to complete my masters before the arrival of my first child.

I have decided to place blogging on the back burner while I focus on research and writing of the thesis. It has been a difficult decision to make. Blogging about Macs is a whole lot more fun than doing graduate research and writing a massive paper. But I’ve come very close to completing the masters, I must refocus my energies and finish strong.

So, what will happen with the blog? The blog will become dormant for some months. I hesitate giving a specific time frame. But at least until May 2008. At that point I will re-evaluate my commitments and activities. I have hope that the blog will come back to life. However, it may undergo some changes in the process.

If you’re reading this in your email inbox, keep the subscription and you’ll be among the first to know when this blog has returned from hibernation. If you’re reading this at Gustacci.com, subscribe to email delivery to be among the first to learn about my future plans for this blog.

Thank you for your commitment and dedicated reading of this blog. Farewell now. I hope to see you again.

Enjoy.

A great way to save time when using your Mac is to use keyboard shortcuts. Below, I’ve listed 27 commonly used keyboard shortcuts. You can find additional ones in the System Preferences under Keyboard & Mouse. In addition, Apple has a more extensive list of keyboard shortcuts on their website.

Bold Selected Text ……………………………… Command + B
Capture Portion of Screen to a File ……….. Command + Shift + 4
Capture Screen to a File ………………………. Command + Shift + 3
Close Tab/Window …………………………….. Command + W
Copy ………………………………………………… Command + C
Cut …………………………………………………… Command + X
Find & Replace ………………………………….. Command + F
Force Quit …………………………………………. Option + Command + Esc
Get Info …………………………………………….. Command + I
Italicize Selected Text ………………………….. Command + I
New Tab ……………………………………………. Command + T
New Windows ……………………………………. Command + N
Open …………………………………………………. Command + O
Paste …………………………………………………. Command + V
Preferences ………………………………………… Command + ,
Print ………………………………………………….. Command + P
Quit …………………………………………………… Command + Q
Save ………………………………………………….. Command + S
Select All …………………………………………… Command + A
Toggle Open Applications ……………………. Command + Tab
Toggle Open Windows in Application …… Command + `
Underline Selected Text ………………………. Command + U
Undo ………………………………………………… Command + Z
View All Windows …………………………….. F9
View Application Windows …………………. F10
View Dashboard ………………………………… F12
View Desktop ……………………………………. F11

The nice thing about keyboard shortcuts on a Mac is that most shortcuts perform the same task across the system. So, you only need to learn them once and you can apply them in just about any application.

Which keyboard shortcuts are your favorite? Are any of the above listed shortcuts new to you? Do you know of any that I missed? Please share with me in the comments.

PC World names MacBook Pro as one of the notable notebooks of 2007. They say,

“The fastest Windows Vista notebook we’ve tested this year is a Mac.”

MacBook Pro appears among other notebooks selected by PC World for notable features. The main thing that amazed the folks at PC World is the speed of this polished piece of machinery.

“The fastest Windows Vista notebook we’ve tested this year–or for that matter, ever–is a Mac. Not a Dell, not a Toshiba, not even an Alienware.”

What is more amazing is that this designation comes from a Windows centric web site. You would expect such praise from the Mac faithful, but not from those who mainly focus on Windows. In most cases die hard Windows users look for every opportunity to find reasons to put down Macs. However, PC World provides a positive review of Apple’s MacBook Pro. Apple must be doing something right, that even mainly Windows centered web sites recognize the power and beauty of a Mac.

In a few days ago, I made an observation about quality products. It appears to me that quality products hold their appeal and style for a much longer time. I was thinking about cars that are considered to be of high quality, such as BMW and Mercedes-Benz. These cars look appealing and stylish even after several years of use. A 5 year-old Mercedes or BMW is still attractive and convey a sense of style and class. I then transfered this line of thinking to computers. Apple is known for high quality computer products that are stylish and classy. And this is true about Apple computers not only when they are sitting on a shelf in the Apple Store, but after several years of use. When you see a PowerBook or an iMac from a couple of years ago, they still look attractive. Yes, you can tell they are not new, but they still retain that “high quality” presence about them.

May be I’m totally off. But I think there is something about quality that endures. What do you think? Do Macs retain their appeal longer than their counterpart Windows computers? Are Windows computers unappealing to begin with?

If you’ve been around this blog for any length of time, you may have noticed that I’m a bit of a Mac junkie. I don’t think of myself in that way, but there is some truth to that. I love Macs and I’m a great fan of Apple. And I am happy to know that I’m not the only one. There are many Apple enthusiasts and great bunch of them maintain blogs just like I do.

I’d like to highlight a few other sources of Apple and Mac information on the web. Even though I’d love to have my blog as the main source of your Mac diet, I know that there’s more news and tips besides what I cover here. The following are blogs that I like to visit, which serve as a source of information for me.

The Unofficial Apple Weblog (www.tuaw.com). This is a blog that I visit on a regular basis. They have a staff of several bloggers that dish out a couple dozen posts a day. They cover things from Macs, to iPhone, to iPods and some.

The MacWorld (www.macworld.com). This is a comprehensive website dedicated to all things Apple. This is the home on the web of the Macworld Magazine. They have several blogs that publish news and information on a variety of Apple related topics. I like to turn to his site for product reviews. Here you will find reviews on Apple products, as well as non-Apple products. Nevertheless, the perspective is that of a Mac user.

Cool OS X Apps (www.coolosxapps.net). This is a new addition to my blogroll. Actually, I came across this blog today. An almost instantly I decided to add it to the links on my blog. Here you will find a list of various applications made for the Mac. It could be a great source when searching for free software as most of the programs listed are available at no charge.

I think I’ve discovered a great computer. In my opinion Mac stands unparalleled to other systems. I hope that you to will discover the joy and satisfaction of using a Mac.